Modified Limited Hangout

Updated Sept. 21, 2004 12:01 a.m. ET

The big news in yesterday's mea culpa by CBS News isn't that the network was "misled" about "documents whose authenticity is in doubt," as it was finally forced to concede. The story is the admission that the source Dan Rather trusted with CBS's reputation was none other than Bill Burkett, a noted antagonist of President Bush.

Journalists -- including us -- use all manner of sources, of course, and many of them are partisans of one kind or another. But as much as possible we owe readers an indication of...